MARY CHANGES THE MENU

"The woman whom You put here with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." —Genesis 3:12

Adam and Eve stood at the foot of the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden (see Gn 2:9; 3:3, 6). They were deciding whether or not to eat its fruit. The lying serpent persuaded them to go ahead and eat (Gn 3:1-5). Eve, the first woman, took the fruit, ate it, and gave Adam the forbidden fruit to eat. They ate the fruit of rebellion and disobedience. Thus the original sin was committed.

Mary is the new Eve. In her obedience, she fully reverses what the first Eve had sowed in her disobedience. The truthful Immaculate Virgin Mother still stands at the foot of the tree in the middle of the garden of Calvary (Jn 19:25, 41), the "tree" of the cross (Gal 3:13). One of the things Mary reverses is our eating patterns at the foot of the tree. Like the first Eve, Mary also is persuading us to eat of this tree's fruit (Gn 3:1-5), the flesh of her Son Jesus, the Holy Eucharist (Jn 6:55ff).

Many people have been stuffing themselves with the things of the world (see Prv 13:19) for years. Some refuse to go along with the world's diet and center their lives around the Mass, devoting themselves to partaking of the Bread of Life. Still others are deciding today whether or not to eat the fruit of sinful worldly pleasure.

Prayer: Immaculate Mary, I accept your advice to do whatever Jesus tells me (Jn 2:5). "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

Promise: "God chose us in Him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in His sight, to be full of love." —Eph 1:4

Praise: Horace, once a non-Christian, came to know Jesus as Lord because of an interest in the prophetic messages given at Marian apparitions.

(This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)

Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from December 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016.†Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 26, 2015.

The Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.